Britain says air cargo security rules under review

Britain says air cargo security rules under review

The move came after a bomb was found aboard an aircraft at a regional airport.

November 1, 2010 10:02 by Reuters

British Home Secretary Theresa May said on Sunday security around all international air cargo arriving in Britain was being reviewed after a bomb sent from Yemen was found aboard an aircraft at a regional airport.

But, acknowledging the massive economic and financial implications of much tighter international air cargo security rules, May stopped short of saying a much more rigorous system of checks was being planned either unilaterally or globally.

“We are looking at the screening of freight. We will be looking at the processes we use. We’ll be talking with the (aviation) industry about these issues,” she told BBC television in an interview.

“I think crucially … we did yesterday act, we did direct the industry that they should not be accepting freight originating from the Yemen, bringing it into the UK, or, crucially, transiting through the UK.

Asked if much tighter rules governing air freight security are being considered at airports around the world she said she could not talk about specific action.

“With governments across the world we work very closely with our international partners and with industry looking at the arrangements that are in place, but you wouldn’t expect me to say in detail what those arrangements are.”

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday the bomb sent from Yemen and found on a U.S.-bound flight at East Midlands Airport was designed to blow an aircraft out of the sky — possibly over Britain.

(Reporting by Stefano Ambrogi; Editing by Jon Hemming)